Injuries to the abdominal wall, particularly muscular injuries, are relatively common in professional cricketers. The Cricket Australia injury database holds data on these injuries over a 20 years span.

This study is a combination of (1) a descriptive outline of the parameters associated with side strains and abdominal wall injuries in elite male cricketers, based on deidentified data extraction from the Cricket Australia database from 1995 to 1996 and 2014 to 2015; (2) multivariate regression analysis of risk factors for abdominal wall strains, taking into account the risk factors of player position, player age and previous abdominal wall injury history.

There were 183 injuries recorded over a 20 years period at Australian state or national player level. Significant risk factors in logistic regression analysis were: being a Pace Bowler RR 10.0 (95% CI 3.1—32.1) and being 24 years old or younger RR 3.4 (95% CI 1.7—6.8). Surprisingly, there was only minimal risk increase, not reaching statistical significance, for recent injury in the same season (p = 0.18) and no association at all with past injury in previous season (p = 0.99).

The internal oblique muscle is reported the most commonly injured component of the abdominal wall, the injuries are overwhelmingly sustained by pace bowlers and the peak incidence of the injury is in the early part of the cricket season. Younger fast bowlers are more likely to be injured than older ones. A history of abdominal wall strain in either the recent or distant past does not increase or decrease future risk of strain, which is in contrast to other muscle strains.

Humphries D, Orchard J, Kountouris A. Abdominal Wall Injuries at the Elite Level in Australian Male Professional Cricketers. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4): 155-158.

Ferdinands R. Kinetics Analysis of Pelvis, Thorax, and Bowling Arm in Cricket Bowling. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):159-163.

Understanding the participation habits of junior cricket players is needed to better inform injury prevention strategies in this sporting population. This investigation sought to describe the amount of training and competition undertaken by junior community level cricket players in a typical week.

A cross-sectional survey with a 1 week recall was administered to 281 Australian junior community club cricket players aged 9 to 16 years. The number of training and competitive matches in the previous week and the number of contexts competed or trained in during that same week were determined.

The majority of the surveyed cricketers participated in. 1 match during the previous week, with 10% reporting having participated in. 2 matches. More players from the under 16 years (U16) level others competed in. 2 matches in the previous week. Coinciding with the greater number of weekly participations in the older age group, 49% (CI: 9.60) of the U16 players reported also taking part in. 2 training sessions in the previous week. Overall, more players aged under 12 years (U12) (46%; CI: 31.6.57.6) reported not attending any cricket training in the previous week, than did older age groups (7% each). Moreover, 28% of U16 players reported also competing in an adult competition.

Older players had greater training and competitive loads than younger players. The number of competitive contexts across which junior players compete also increased with age. There is potential for heightened injury risk when training and match loads get too high, especially across playing contexts.

Talpey SW, Siesmaa E, White P, Finch CF. Weekly Training and Competitive Load of Junior Level Community Cricket Players. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4): 164-167.

The understanding of cricket related injuries is still in its infancy in India with very limited surveillance data published from the subcontinent.

This is a prospective observational study on the epidemiology of orthopedic injuries in Indian cricket players.

This study included cricketers of an elite North Indian cricket team. The study covered a period of 1 year, comprising one playing season and one off season. The player types were categorized by Orchard's injury definitions, and the term ‘All Rounder’ was introduced.

Ninety-five male players who fulfilled inclusion criteria sustained 48 significant and 12 insignificant injuries. Injury incidence documented by us (3.27 per 10,000 hours of play) was significantly lower than Australian figures (24.2 injuries/10,000 playing hours). These players did not have any ‘off day’ from the game, leading to limited rest, which was different from international standards. Bowlers sustained the most severe injuries, specifically of the lower limb, while fielders had increased risk of sustaining upper limb injury. Fast bowlers had increased risk of sustaining back trauma. Injuries were also sustained during practice and due to poor ground conditions.

Orchard's internationally accepted definitions of cricket injury need to be modified for the Indian scenario, where ‘off days’ are not observed, and many injuries which keep players from the game occur in unsupervised practice. This may influence overall incidence and prevalence rates.

Dhillon MS, Soni RK, Aggarwal S, Dhillon H, Prabhakar S. Epidemiology of Orthopedic Injuries in Indian Cricket: A Prospective One Year Observational Study. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):168-172.

Thiagarajan KA, Parikh T, Sayed A, Gnanavel MB, Arumugam S. Cricket Biomechanics Analysis of Skilled and Amateur Fast Bowling Techniques. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):173-181.

Mansingh A. Medical Coverage of Cricket Matches. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):182-185.

Kothari MK, Shah KC, Prabhoo T, Nene AM. Spondylolysis among Fast Bowlers: Approach to Management. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):186-193.

Prabhakar S, Pandey R. Shoulder Injuries in Cricketers. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4): 194-196.

Beotra A. Dope Testing in Cricket. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):197-198.

‘What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?’—CLR James. Cricket is one of the oldest major international team sport, however, the integration of sports medicine research into the cricketing set-up has been relatively new. Cricketing nations, such as Australia, England and South Africa, have been at the forefront and have shown an increased interest to understand this game from a scientific point of view. On the contrary, in a country where cricket is like a religion it is sad to say that the lack of scientific rigor still echoes in the Indian dressing room. Nevertheless, a fresh approach brought in by foreign medical practitioners has planted the seed in local brains to bring the concept of sports medicine into the Indian cricketing fraternity.

This article will explore scientific research that has been conducted on various areas in cricket and compare the role of sports science in Indian cricket and finally identify areas of future concern which would help to bridge the gap between sports medicine and Indian cricket.

Bansal HK, Speechly E. Sports Medicine and Indian Cricket: Exploring the Past, understanding the Present and accommodating a Future of Scientific Conception. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):199-203.

Talib U, Saleem S. Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Injury in Professional Cricketers. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):204-208.

Prabhakar S, Dhillon HS, Syam K, Dhillon SS, Dhillon MS. Volar Plate Avulsion of Pip Joint; An Unusual Fielding Injury in Cricket. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):209-212.

Krishnamurthy G, Kumar H, Das R, Gupta R. Isolated Duodenal Trauma following Cricket Ball Injury. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2015;49(4):213-215.